Mortgage Payment Suspension Credit Impact (Wells Fargo)

[Art Maydan]

I have two mortgages with Wells Fargo - one personal residence and one rental property. I can afford to keep making both payments for the foreseeable future. Does taking them up on the 3-month payment suspension make sense? They say they won't report the late payments, but when a lender looks at my report in 18 months, won't they see if I skip payments? And even if it doesn't impact the score itself, it's it a great look for a lender to see that you weathered the storm? The other thing is I'm looking to refi' both mortgages as soon as my taxes come back (one mortgage is 1 year old and the other is 3). And you can't refi' while payments are suspended.

On the other hand, if adding payments onto the tail of the loan is possible, that's a way better option than a lump sum due at once. I'd rather hold onto the money and let it earn interest for 3 months. And I'd just always rather have more cash than less. Especially right now. If **** hits the fan (unlikely imo), I'd rather have cash than a bit more equity. And if **** really really hits the fan, the banking system is ****ed anyway so who cares.. Getting a bit abstract but you get it.

Here's what Wells Fargo says:

"While our assistance options related to COVID-19 continue to evolve, we
are currently offering the following short-term relief for a period of
three months:

* Payment suspension for 3 months
* No Reporting of Late Payments to Credit Reporting Agencies
* Late Charge Suppression

If you need payment assistance, due to COVID-19 and would like the 3
month payment suspension, sign on to online banking and select the
payment assistance alert on your mortgage account. When you submit the
request, you will receive an immediate acknowledgement of receipt.
Additionally, you will receive a letter in the mail within 7 - 10
business days.

If you are enrolled in automatic mortgage payments through Wells Fargo,
those payments will be cancelled within 2 ? 3 business days after the
disaster relief is processed. If you set up bill pay through your Wells
Fargo Bank account or another bank, you will need to manually stop those
payments.

During this short-term relief period, you may choose to pay a portion of
your payment(s) or nothing at all. That choice is yours. We understand
you may not be able to make up missed payments at the end of the
short-term relief period and we have a number of potential options
available. Those options could include a continuation of the payment
suspension, adding payments to the principal balance, and/or extending
the term of the loan."